Maureen Flanagan, a government employee on furlough from her job at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, holds a sign outside an entrance to the academy on Wednesday, Oct. 2, 2013, in Highland Falls, N.Y. (AP Photo/Mike Groll)

I want to tell you about 11 simple words that have hurt millions of Americans. Eleven words changed the rules in Washington and destroyed any chance Congress had to end the government shutdown early.

The standing rules of Congress say, “When the stage of disagreement has been reached on a bill or resolution with House or Senate amendments, a motion to dispose of any amendment shall be privileged.”

That means that once the House and Senate argue long enough on a bill that the Senate has passed, any member of the House can simply call for a fair, majority vote.

In this case, the bill would have kept our government open. A majority of the House, including many Republicans, have said they would vote in favor of that bill. President Obama has said he would sign it. The shutdown would be over.

Unfortunately, Republicans changed the rules in a last minute effort — just before the shutdown began — behind closed doors. The change was made in the dead of night with only Republicans voting in favor.

Now, only one Congressperson, the Majority Leader, controls whether we do the one thing that every family and every business in America has to do: simply pay our bills.

He has refused.

By adding 11 words, “…may be offered only by the majority Leader or his designee,” Republicans have allowed the shutdown to linger on. This costs our economy $300 million a day and taxpayers more than $100 million.

Americans appreciate rules. We may not always drive the speed limit, but we like to know that our businesses, our kids, and our homes are protected by rules. When we buy a hamburger, we know the rules say it can’t have bad meat that will make us sick. When we watch sports, we know rules keep the playing field level. When I ran a small business, I knew my competitors operated under the same rules that I did.

Rules make things fair, whether it’s in sports, business or government.

Americans expect everyone to play by the same rules and those rules to be consistent.

I have talked to hundreds of people in Pacoima, Van Nuys, North Hollywood and throughout the Valley. Every single one of them is either nervous about the future, upset about what is happening now, or hurt by the impact of the government shutdown.

They probably don’t know the rules changed in Washington, but they can see that they’ve changed for people outside Washington.

The rules changed for 800,000 government employees across the country who are out of work.

The rules changed for small business owners who have lost so much of the $300 million stripped from our economy every day.

The rules changed for a restaurant owner whose deli sits across from one of our Federal buildings here in Los Angeles. Because of the shutdown, she no longer has the lunch crowd she depends on to pay her staff. She has to lay some servers and cooks off.

The rules haven’t just changed for one or two people at a time, but for millions.

In my district, the Mission City Community Network is a health network that provides medical, dental and mental health services. Construction on their new facility has stopped, because of the shutdown.

Once the hospital is complete, they will help 10,000 patients within the first three years. But now, the rules have changed and their project is frozen.

Dozens of construction workers are without work and without a paycheck, while hundreds who desperately need help go wanting.

I came to Congress to work hard. I came to help families give their kids a better world than the one they were born into. I came to help businesses grow and prosper. Mostly, I came to help rebuild America’s economy and make sure our nation stays the greatest in the world.

Then the Republican majority changed the rules.

For two weeks, like so many Americans, I’ve shown up to work and been told I’m not allowed to do my job.

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